The question of what happens after death has captivated humanity for millennia. From ancient philosophies to modern scientific inquiry, we are constantly searching for answers. The ancient Tibetan Buddhist text, “The Tibetan Book of the Dead,” offers a unique and intricate perspective on this journey. More than just a guide for the dying, it is a manual for the living, providing a roadmap for navigating the mind’s ultimate transition.
This blog post will delve into the profound teachings of this text, based on the complete translation by Gyurme Dorje. We will explore the core philosophy that underpins the entire work, the preparatory practices for life and death, and the breathtakingly detailed descriptions of the mind’s journey through the intermediate states of existence.
The Origins: A Treasure Concealed and Revealed
The full title of this extraordinary text is “The Great Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States” . Its origins trace back to the 8th century, when it was composed by the great Indian master Padmasambhava, who is revered as a “second Buddha” in Tibet. Padmasambhava, along with his consort Yeshe Tsogyal, foresaw that the oral transmission of these teachings could be corrupted over time. To preserve their purity, he concealed them as a “treasure-teaching” (gter−chos), in the form of scrolls and sacred artifacts, in various power-places across the Tibetan plateau.
He prophesied that these teachings would be rediscovered in a future era by a “treasure-finder” (gter−ston). This prophecy was fulfilled in the 14th century when the master Terton Karma Lingpa unearthed the texts from Mount Gampodar in Dakpo, Tibet. The work we know today as “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” is an abridgement of a larger cycle of teachings from this discovery, titled “Peaceful and Wrathful Deities: A Profound Sacred Teaching, [entitled] Natural Liberation through [Recognition of] Enlightened Intention.”
The Philosophical Foundation: The Impermanent Self and the Law of Karma
The book begins with an introductory commentary by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, which establishes the philosophical framework for the entire text. It challenges the notion of a permanent, independent “self” or “soul.” Instead, a person is described as a dynamic and interdependent collection of five psycho-physical aggregates:
- Form: The physical body and the five sense faculties.
- Feeling: Sensations of pleasure, pain, and neutrality.
- Discrimination: The faculty of recognition and identification.
- Motivational Tendencies: The mental impulses that drive actions, such as habits and dispositions.
- Consciousness: The underlying awareness of all phenomena.
These aggregates exist on both a coarse and a subtle level. The subtle mind (the aspect of awareness) and the subtle body (the activating energy) are inextricably linked, forming a single entity identified as our innate “buddha nature.” This subtle continuum of mind and matter is considered to be beginningless.
The cycle of life, death, and rebirth is not random. It is governed by the natural law of cause and effect, or karma. This process is driven by fundamental ignorance, a deep-seated misapprehension of the true nature of reality. This ignorance gives rise to “karmic propensities” that propel us through twelve interdependent links of existence, ultimately leading to birth, aging, and death.
The key takeaway is that our experiences, both in this life and the next, are not controlled by an external force. They are a direct result of our own mind, our actions, and the psychological imprints they leave behind.
The Path of Preparation: A Spiritual Manual for the Living
“The Tibetan Book of the Dead” is, first and foremost, a manual for living a meaningful life in preparation for death. The following chapters detail the essential practices for transforming one’s mind, purifying negative tendencies, and cultivating profound awareness.
Chapter 1: The Four-session Yoga of the Preliminary Practice
This chapter presents a foundational spiritual practice, poetically composed in verse, intended for daily repetition. The text urges us to renounce laziness and distraction by reflecting on four key themes:
- The preciousness of human life: A human body with the freedom and opportunity to practice is incredibly rare and should not be wasted.
- Impermanence and death: The moments of our life are not expendable, and death can come at any time, emphasizing the urgency of spiritual practice.
- The sufferings of cyclic existence: The text highlights the endless and often unbearable suffering that sentient beings experience in the six realms of rebirth due to ignorance and past actions.
- Karma, cause and effect: It reinforces that our virtuous and non-virtuous actions will inevitably lead to happiness or suffering in the future.
The practice also involves a series of “uncommon preliminaries,” including:
- Refuge: Taking outer refuge in the Three Jewels, inner refuge in the spiritual teachers, meditational deities, and ḍaˉkinιˉs, and secret refuge in the ultimate nature of mind itself.
- Generating an altruistic intention (Bodhicitta): Cultivating a sincere wish to achieve enlightenment for all sentient beings.
- Purification of negativity: Through the visualization of the deity Vajrasattva and the recitation of the Hundred-syllable Mantra, the practitioner purifies past actions and restores broken commitments.
- The Mandala Offering: A visualization of offering the entire universe to the lineage teachers, meditational deities, and ḍaˉkinιˉs to accumulate merit.
- Receiving the Four Empowerments: A symbolic process of purification and blessing from the visualized spiritual teacher to prepare the body, speech, and mind for advanced practices.
Chapter 4: The Introduction to Awareness: Natural Liberation through Naked Perception
This is a pivotal chapter, containing the core esoteric instruction of the entire text. It is a guide for the “direct introduction” to the ultimate nature of mind, or “awareness” (rig−pa). The text argues that although the mind is the root of both cyclic existence and nirvana, it has remained unrecognized by sentient beings. This failure to recognize its true nature is the cause of all suffering.
The practice is simple yet profound. By observing the mind’s own nature directly, one can realize that:
- Past thoughts are traceless and empty, with no substantial reality.
- Future thoughts are unproduced and fresh, not yet existing.
- The present moment abides naturally and without any fabrication.
This direct, non-conceptual awareness is described as the inseparability of the Three Buddha-bodies:
- The Buddha-body of Reality (dharmakaˉya): The emptiness of mind, its utter lack of inherent existence.
- The Buddha-body of Perfect Resource (sambhogakaˉya): The natural, unimpeded radiance and clarity of that emptiness.
- The Buddha-body of Emanation (nirmaˉṇakaˉya): The mind’s ability to manifest in any form whatsoever.
The text also employs powerful metaphors to guide the practitioner. It compares the mind to the sky: vast, clear, and empty, yet all phenomena and thoughts appear within it. This realization is the highest of all views and meditations, a state where all conceptual thoughts are liberated the moment they arise.
The Journey After Death: Navigating the Intermediate States
The heart of “The Tibetan Book of the Dead” lies in its detailed descriptions of the post-mortem journey. This is where the preparatory practices of the living become a powerful tool for liberation.
Chapter 8: The Visual Indications and Signs of Death
This chapter serves as a diagnostic manual for recognizing the impending signs of death. It describes six categories of signs, from changes in the body and dreams to more subtle indications related to one’s shadow or bodily fluids. This serves as a warning for the practitioner to intensify their spiritual practice and prepare for the ultimate transition. The chapter also details the signs of “extremely near death,” where the five physical elements (earth, water, fire, wind, and space) dissolve sequentially. The text describes this process in great detail:
- Earth element dissolution: The body feels heavy, the skin sags, and one feels as though one is sinking into the earth. The energy of earth dissolves into water.
- Water element dissolution: Bodily fluids like saliva and mucus increase, and one feels as though one is drowning. The energy of water dissolves into fire.
- Fire element dissolution: Bodily warmth diminishes, the eyes roll upward, and one can no longer recognize people. The energy of fire dissolves into wind.
- Wind element dissolution: Breathing becomes wheezy, and consciousness becomes turbulent. The energy of wind dissolves into space. This process culminates in a moment of “unconsciousness” where all the gross aspects of the mind dissolve, revealing the subtle “inner radiance.”
Chapter 10: Consciousness Transference: Natural Liberation through Recollection
This chapter describes the practice of “consciousness transference” (′pho−ba), a powerful technique for ejecting one’s consciousness at the time of death. The goal is to transfer the mind to a pure realm or a state of liberation. The text outlines various forms of transference, including:
- Transference into the Buddha-body of Reality: Achieved by letting one’s awareness rest in its natural, uncontrived state of emptiness and radiance.
- Transference into the Buddha-body of Perfect Resource: Involves visualizing one’s spiritual teacher or meditational deity above the crown of the head and ejecting one’s consciousness to merge with it. The text even details the physical posture for this practice, and the use of forceful “HI-KA” gasps to propel the consciousness upward.
- Transference into the Buddha-body of Emanation: Achieved by visualizing one’s consciousness as an arrow penetrating the heart of a Buddha-body of Emanation.
- Transference for ordinary persons: Even without extensive training, a person can be guided by a spiritual friend to focus their mind at the crown of their head. The text explains that even a gentle tug on the hair at the crown can help the consciousness exit from this optimal point.
Chapter 11: The Great Liberation by Hearing
This is the central text to be read aloud to the dying or recently deceased. It is a detailed map of the intermediate states, providing guidance and reminders at each stage.
- The Intermediate State of the Time of Death (′chi−kha′i bar−do): As the physical body dissolves and the outer breath ceases, the “inner radiance of the ground” dawns. This is the mind’s ultimate, non-conceptual nature. The text urges the deceased to recognize this brilliant emptiness as their own pure awareness. If they can rest in this state, liberation is instantaneous.
- The Intermediate State of Reality (chos−nyid bar−do): If the inner radiance is not recognized, the deceased awakens from unconsciousness into a bewildering state where their mind projects terrifying visions of sounds, lights, and deities. Over five days, the “forty-two Peaceful Deities” appear, each a manifestation of a purified aggregate or element. For example, on the first day, a dazzling blue light emanates from the Buddha Vairocana, representing the pristine cognition of reality’s expanse. The deceased is instructed to recognize these visions as the “natural purity” of their own mind and not to be frightened. The deceased is guided to follow the bright lights of pristine cognition, not the dull lights of the six realms that are generated by their own karmic propensities.
- The Wrathful Deities: If recognition of the peaceful deities fails, the visions intensify. Over the next five days, the “fifty-eight Wrathful Deities” appear. These blood-drinking herukas, with their ferocious expressions and blazing flames, are meant to terrify the deluded mind. The text repeatedly emphasizes that these are not external demons but the “natural transformation” of the deceased’s own deep-seated negative emotions, such as anger and hatred. By recognizing the wrathful deities as their own mind, the deceased can be liberated. If not, they will flee in terror and fall into the next intermediate state.
- The Intermediate State of Rebirth (srid−pa bar−do): The deceased’s consciousness, now separated from its physical body, takes on a “mental body” that can travel instantaneously by thought. This is the stage of judgment, where the deceased confronts Yama Dharmarāja, the embodiment of the infallible law of cause and effect. Their virtuous and non-virtuous actions are weighed, and they are driven by the winds of karma toward a new rebirth. The text provides instructions on how to obstruct unfavorable womb entrances and choose a favorable rebirth in a pure land or a virtuous family.
A Legacy of Liberation
The teachings conclude with powerful practices for the living to ensure a positive outcome for the deceased.
Chapter 13: A Masked Drama of Rebirth
This allegorical play, still performed in some Tibetan communities, serves as a vivid didactic tool. It contrasts the fate of an evil-doer, who is led to the hells, with a virtuous householder, who is welcomed by deities into a higher rebirth. It reinforces the central message that our actions in this life have direct and unavoidable consequences in the next.
Chapter 14: Liberation by Wearing: Natural Liberation of the Psycho-physical Aggregates
This final chapter presents a collection of sacred mantras to be worn as an amulet on the body. The text claims that this “Liberation by Wearing” can confer liberation simply by being in contact with the body at the time of death. The mantras, composed of the syllables that are the resonance of the Peaceful and Wrathful Deities, are said to naturally liberate the mind from bewilderment and ensure a fortunate rebirth. This provides a final safeguard for those who have not achieved liberation through meditation alone.
By exploring “The Tibetan Book of the Dead,” we are offered more than just a glimpse into a spiritual tradition; we are given a profound and actionable philosophy for life. It is a powerful reminder that every moment holds the potential for spiritual transformation, and that by mastering our own mind, we can find true freedom.
